Fm receiver with digitally controlled antenna tuning circuitry

ABSTRACT

An FM receiver including an FM antenna that receives continuous wavelength signals, where the FM receiver is coupled to the FM antenna and operable to alter a center frequency of a gain profile of the FM antenna. The FM receiver includes a low noise amplifier module that is coupled to amplify the continuous wavelength signal to produce an amplified RF signal therefrom. A down conversion module is coupled to mix the amplified RF signal with a local oscillation to produce an information signal. A filter module is coupled to filter the information signal to produce a filtered information signal. A demodulation module is coupled to capture audio information from the filtered information signal. A signal monitoring module is coupled to monitor the FM signal quality of a received continuous wavelength signal. The signal monitoring module produces a signal quality indication therefrom. An antenna control module produces a signal value based upon the signal quality indication, wherein the signal value operates to alter the center frequency of a gain profile of the FM antenna.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application SerialNo. 60/889,528 entitled “Mobile Phone with an Antenna Structure havingImproved Performance,” filed Feb. 12, 2007, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wireless communications and, moreparticularly, signal reception and transmission in mobile wirelesscommunication systems.

RELATED ART

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire-linedcommunications between wireless and/or wire-lined communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, andhence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards.For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordancewith one or more standards, including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11,Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access(CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variationsthereof.

Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wirelesscommunication device, such as a mobile telephone, two-way radio,personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptopcomputer, home entertainment equipment, et cetera, communicates directlyor indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For directcommunications (also known as point-to-point communications), theparticipating wireless communication devices tune their receivers andtransmitters to the same channel or channels (for example, one of aplurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communicationsystem) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wirelesscommunications, each wireless communication device communicates directlywith an associated base station (for example, for cellular services)and/or an associated access point (for example, for an in-home orin-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete acommunication connection between the wireless communication devices, theassociated base stations and/or associated access points communicatewith each other directly, via a system controller, via a public switchtelephone network (PSTN), via the Internet, and/or via some other widearea network.

Each wireless communication device includes a built-in radio transceiver(that is, a receiver and a transmitter) or is coupled to an associatedradio transceiver (for example, a station for in-home and/or in-buildingwireless communication networks, radio frequency (RF) modem, et cetera).As is known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, one ormore intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier stage. Thedata modulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals inaccordance with the particular wireless communication standard. The oneor more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals With oneor more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifierstage amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.

An antenna is an essential element for a wireless communication device.The antenna provides a wireless interface for the wireless communicationdevice, which may be a radio, mobile phone, pager, station (for wirelesslocal area network, wireless Internet, et cetera). The particular typeof wireless communication system, which prescribes the transmissionfrequencies, reception frequencies and power levels, dictates theperformance requirements for the antenna.

Because most wireless communication devices are handheld or portabledevices, each component including these devices must be small,efficient, economical and lightweight-generally, these components areprovided in forms of systems on chips or other integrated circuits. Theantenna is no exception - it too must be small, efficient, economicaland lightweight. To achieve these requirements, many antennas have beendeveloped having various structures including monopole, dipole, etcetera.

The diminutive size of the antennas, however, leave them moresusceptible to operational environmental changes that correspondinglyaffect the ability of an antenna to reliably receive and/or transmitsignals. For example, mobile phones can be readily held within the graspof a user, or placed within a pocket, et cetera. When operationalenvironmental conditions change, the impedance and consequently theability of the antenna are adversely affected, reducing thesignal-to-noise performance of the antenna.

Although favorable operational environmental conditions may return, auser becomes frustrated by the inconsistency of the service for theirmobile phone or device. Also, the compactness of mobile wireless devicescan cause E-M interference between other device components, furtherdegrading antenna performance. Various types of antennas andcorresponding shapes may provide adequate antenna performance.Nevertheless, they too are becoming increasingly sensitive tooperational environmental changes and interference from other devicecomponents. Therefore, a need exists for miniaturized integrated circuitsystems to be able to rapidly tune an FM antenna to compensate for theseoperational environmental changes and inter-component interference.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operationthat are further described in the following Brief Description of theDrawings, the Detailed Description of the Drawings, and the claims.Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the drawings madewith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment is consideredwith the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a communication systemthat includes a plurality of base stations or access points (APs), aplurality of wireless communication devices and a network hardwarecomponent;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device architecture including an FM transceiver and an FMantenna tuning module according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an illustration for a center frequency of a gain profile of anFM antenna;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device architecture including an FM transceiver an FMantenna tuning module coupled with a tuning circuit according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram further illustrating an integratedcircuit that supports wireless communications according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of another integrated circuit thatsupports wireless communications according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating FM receiver circuitrythat includes digitally-controlled antenna tuning circuitry according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram for altering a center frequency of a gainprofile of an FM antenna according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a mobile phone with a brick configurationthat includes an antenna structure according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a mobile phone with a clamshellconfiguration that includes an antenna structure according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional diagram of an antenna structure including aprinted FM antenna in a first orientation according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional diagram of an antenna structure including aprinted FM antenna in a second orientation according to anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of another antenna structure including adielectric spacer according to a further embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional diagram of the antenna structure of FIG.13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a communication systemthat includes circuit devices and network elements and operationthereof. More specifically, a plurality of network service areas 04, 06and 08 are a part of a network 10. Network 10 includes a plurality ofbase stations or access points (APs) 12-16, a plurality of wirelesscommunication devices 18-32 and a network hardware component 34. Thewireless communication devices 18-32 may be laptop computers 18 and 26,personal digital assistants 20 and 30, personal computers 24 and 32and/or mobile telephones 22 and 28.

The base stations or APs 12-16 are operably coupled to the networkhardware component 34 via local area network (LAN) connections 36, 38and 40. The network hardware component 34, which may be a router,switch, bridge, modem, system controller, et cetera, provides a widearea network connection 42 for the communication system 10 to anexternal network element. Each of the base stations or access points12-16 has an associated antenna or antenna array to communicate with thewireless communication devices in its area. Typically, the wirelesscommunication devices 18-32 register with the particular base station oraccess points 12-16 to receive services from the communication system10. For direct connections (that is, point-to-point communications),wireless communication devices communicate directly via an allocatedchannel.

Some or all of the wireless communication devices 18-32 may include a FMtransceiver to receive and/or transmit continuous waveform signals inthe FM frequency broadcast band, which in the United States is 87.9 to107.9 MHz. It can be appreciated, however, that FM signals may betransmitted on any frequency. In the present example, wirelesscommunication devices 22, 24, 28, 30, and 32 include FM transceivers 23,25, 31, 33, and 35, respectively. In this manner, the wirelesscommunication devices may receive and/or transmit media content via FMfrequency transmission techniques.

In addition to media content (such as audio, video, et cetera), awireless communication device may receive and/or transmit additionalinformation such as Radio Data System (“RDS”) information, whichprovides digital information regarding FM radio broadcasts. Thisinformation can include items such as time, track/artist information,station identification, et cetera.

FM broadcast stations 54 and 56 transmit media content over continuouswaveforms in the FM band, in which the FM transceivers 23-33 receive viatheir respective FM antennas. The FM transceivers then process thesignals for playback of the media content to a user device. Also, thewireless communication devices may transmit FM signals as a localbroadcast to nearby audio devices having FM receivers, such as personalstereos, automobile FM radios, et cetera.

The small wireless devices include FM receivers withdigitally-controlled tuning circuitry to improve the antenna performanceacross non-ideal operational environmental for the small wirelessdevice. The antenna performance is improved by altering the centerfrequency of the FM antenna gain profile.

An example when a non-ideal operational environmental condition mayoccur is the position of a human body to a device's FM antenna—ingeneral, the proximate position of a user affects and/or changes theimpedance of the FM antenna (such as when the wireless device beingclasped in a user's hand, stored in a pocket, notebook, et cetera). Asthe person moves either closer to or further away from the device'santenna, the impedance of the antenna to change, affecting the centerfrequency of the FM antenna's gain profile. Because FM antennas arereduced to fit within a smaller wireless device, antenna impedancesbecome more sensitive to these varying operational environmentalconditions.

As a result, the varying antenna impedances resulting from the non-idealoperational environmental conditions affect the signal processing andmedia content playback to a user. For example, when reception conditionsare less than ideal (that is, the signal-to-noise ratio worsens and/orsignal strength decreases), a stereo FM broadcast playback transitionsto mono or the FM signal may altogether be dropped. With ever varyingenvironmental conditions, the varying and/or inconsistent playbackfrustrates users. FM antenna tuning circuitry and FM antenna structuresare discussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2 through 14.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device 22-32. As illustrated, wireless communicationdevice 22-32 includes a digital processing module 54, a memory 56, userinterface(s) 52, transceivers 58-66, an FM antenna control circuitry 68,a FM antenna 70, and antenna switch 72. The digital processing module 54and memory 56 execute instructions and perform correspondingcommunication functions in accordance with a particular mobile and/orcellular phone standard.

User interface(s) 52 allows data to be received from and providesconnectivity to an output device such as a display, monitor, speakers,microphone, et cetera, such that the received data may be displayedand/or presented. The digital processing module 54 may also receive theoutbound data from an input device such as a keyboard, keypad,microphone, et cetera, via the user interface(s) 52 or generate the dataitself. The user interface provides outbound data 76 to the digitalprocessing module 54 for transmission via one of the transceivers 58-66.The user interface also receives inbound data 74 destined for a user.

The wireless communication device 22-32 includes several transceivers(that is, receiver and transmitter) for accommodating differentcommunication and/or data sessions. The wireless communication device22-32 includes a cellular transceiver 58 (for example, PersonalCommunication System (PCS), Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM), Wideband CDMA, et cetera), a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN)transceiver 60 (for example, WiMAX, HSDPA, et cetera), a Wireless LAN(WLAN) transceiver 62 (for example, IEEE 802.11), a Wireless PersonalArea Network (WPAN) transceiver 64 (for example Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15,et cetera), and a FM transceiver 66.

The transmitter portion of a transceiver generally includes a datamodulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a poweramplifier stage. The data modulation stage converts raw data intobaseband signals in accordance with the particular wirelesscommunication standards specification. The one or more intermediatefrequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or more localoscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier stage amplifiesthe RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.

A transceiver's receiver portion generally includes a low noiseamplifier (LNA) stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and adata demodulation stage. The LNA stage amplifies the received RF signalsfor providing a stronger signal for subsequent processing. The one ormore intermediate frequency stages mix the RF signals with one or morelocal oscillations to produce baseband signals, in accordance with theparticular wireless communication standards specification. In othertransceiver configurations, a received FM signal may be converteddirectly to baseband signals. The data demodulation stage operates toconvert the baseband signals into raw data.

The transceivers 58-64 receive and transmit RF signals via the antennaswitch 72, which operates to couple the receivers to the antenna 86 in areceive mode, and to couple the transmitters in a transmit mode. Theantenna switch 72 provides a many-to-one access to the antenna 86 forproviding efficient use of antenna resources. Examples of antennaswitches are discussed in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,079,816,entitled “On Chip Diversity Antenna Switch,” issued Jul. 18, 2006, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference.

The FM transceiver 66 receives continuous waveform signals 89 from an FMtransmitter, such as FM broadcast stations 54 and 56 (see FIG. 1), viathe FM antenna 70. Also, the FM transceiver 66 may transmit a continuouswaveform signal 89 in the FM band to a local receiver (such as apersonal stereo, automobile FM radio, et cetera).

An FM antenna tuning module 68, including lumped tuning elements 69,operates to adjust the impedance match with the FM antenna 70 with animpedance adjustment value 71. In general, the smaller the “footprint”of an FM antenna, the more vulnerable its performance becomes due to itspositioning within a wireless communication device with respect to othercomponents, and the more sensitive it is to changes in its operationalenvironment that adversely affect the tuning of the antenna 70 (such asby the varying proximity of a user to the wireless communicationdevice).

The FM antenna 70 may be provided under a variety of configurations,such as a monopole antenna, a dipole antenna (for example, such as thedipole antenna depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,770, entitled “PrintedDipole Antenna,” issued Apr. 25, 2006, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference), an eccentric spiral antenna (for example, such asthe eccentric spiral antenna depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,947,010,entitled “Eccentric Spiral Antenna,” issued Apr. 4, 2000, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference), a fractal element antenna, etcetera. Each configuration may have different design considerations.

As an example, a monopole antenna may have improved performance over adipole antenna structure due to the lower ohmic loss of the antennatraces (that is, fewer antenna traces can be used with a monopolestructure). In general, a lower ohmic loss provides the FM antenna 70with higher antenna efficiency.

The monopole structure relies on the existing ground of the mobile phone22 to generate an image of the “missing” portion (that is, the “dipole”portion for the monopole antenna). Because the wireless device may nothave a perfect ground available for attachment of a monopole antennastructure, the impedance matching may be unpredictable. The overallperformance of a monopole antenna, however, may be improved through alower ohmic loss of the antenna trace 218 with respect to small antenna“footprints”.

Lower ohmic loss for an antenna may also be recognized by operating anantenna at a higher resonant frequency, f_(C). For example, the FMantenna 70 has a higher resonant frequency (such as two-to-three timeshigher) than the intended operational frequency (in the present example,the FM frequency band). The higher resonant frequency permits theelectrical length of the antenna to be reduced, and correspondingly, theamount of space allocated for the antenna trace. That is, a shorterelectrical length has fewer trace windings that can have larger tracesurfaces in a given antenna area—the result is a lower ohmic loss. Inoperation with the FM transceiver 66, the receiver reduces the resonantfrequency of the FM antenna 70 to the intended frequency resonance usingdiscrete (or lumped) low-loss antenna matching components, such as thelumped tuning elements 69.

A trade off, however, exists between the highest resonant frequency towhich the antenna is tuned versus the amount of impedance matching (viathe FM antenna control circuitry 68) to bring the resonant frequencywithin the desired operational frequency. For instance, when the antennaresonates at a very high frequency, the required amount of impedancematching can be excessive, consequently producing excessive antennaloss. In other words, the advantage of having a lower ohmic loss andhigher antenna efficiency is lost. On the other hand, when the antennaresonates substantially close to the desired resonant frequency, fewermatching components would be needed; however, the resulting ohmic lossof the resulting FM antenna trace would be comparable or larger than theradiation resistance for the FM antenna 70.

Regardless of the antenna configuration deployed, the FM antenna 70 hasa center frequency associated with its gain profile for the desiredradio frequency band. The FM antenna control circuitry 68 operates tocenter the FM antenna 70 within the desired operational frequency. TheFM antenna control circuitry 68, based upon a signal strength indicationof a received continuous wavelength signal 89, provides an adjustmentcontrol signal to the lumped tuning elements 69. The lumped tuningelements 69 correspondingly varies the impedance (and the resonancefrequency) of the FM antenna 70 via an impedance adjustment value 71.

That is, although the received signal is a continuous wavelength signal,the digitally controlled antenna tuning circuitry functions to alter thecenter frequency of the gain profile of the FM antenna at a ratesufficient to accommodate broadcast-content playback to a user in adynamic operational environment. That is, the user does not perceive orsense the interference otherwise caused by the ever-changing operationalenvironment.

The lumped tuning elements 69 include voltage-controlled variableimpedance devices (such as a bank of impedance devices, varactors,varicap diodes, et cetera) to produce the impedance adjustment value 71.That is, by adjusting the impedance value through the lumped tuningelements 69, the FM antenna control circuitry 68 tunes the FM antenna 70to the operational conditions of the wireless communication device22-32.

The FM antenna control circuitry 68 and the lumped tuning elements 69may be on a single integrated circuit or a plurality of integratedcircuits. Also, the FM antenna tuning module and the lumped tuningelements 69 may be implemented as part of a system on a chip. Examplesof other implementations are discussed in detail with reference to FIGS.4 through 14.

The digital processing module 54, in combination with operationalinstructions stored in memory 56, executes digital receiver and digitaltransmitter functions. The digital processing module 54 may beimplemented using a shared processing device, individual processingdevices, or a plurality of processing devices. Such a processing devicemay be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digital signal processor,microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmable gate array,programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulates signals(analog and/or digital) based on operational instructions.

Memory 56 may be a single memory device or a plurality of memorydevices. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, random accessmemory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamicmemory, flash memory, and/or any device that stores digital information.Note that when digital processing module 54 implements one or more ofits functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry, the memory storing the corresponding operationalinstructions is embedded with the circuitry comprising the statemachine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry.Memory 56 stores, and digital processing module 54 executes, operationalinstructions corresponding to at least some of the functions illustratedand/or described herein.

In operation, the digital processing module 54 processes outbound data76 in accordance with a particular wireless communication standard (forexample, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, Bluetooth, IEEE 802.16, et cetera)to produce the appropriate digital transmission formatted data for apresent communication session, which includes cellular data 59, WLANdata 61, WWAN data 65, and/or FM signal data 67. This data will be adigital baseband signal or a digital low IF signal, where the low IFtypically will be in the frequency range of one hundred kilohertz to afew megahertz.

Each respective transceiver 58-66 converts the digital data from thedigital domain to the analog domain. Though the antenna 86 isschematically depicted as external to the body of the radio, commercialversions of the wireless communication device generally incorporate theantenna element and structures within the body of the device. Also, thewireless communication device may also include additional antennas forstandards specific applications, such as those for Bluetoothapplications, et cetera.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the wirelesscommunication device of FIG. 2 may be implemented using one or moreintegrated circuits. For example, the digital processing module 54 andmemory 56 may be implemented on a second integrated circuit, and theremaining components of the wireless communication device 22-32, lessantenna 86, may be implemented on a third integrated circuit. As analternate example, the wireless communication device 22-32 may beimplemented on a single integrated circuit.

FIG. 3 is an illustration for a center, or resonant, frequency f_(C) ofa gain profile of an FM antenna with respect to FM signal bandreception, which is represented as a received signal strength 93. Inthis example, the center frequency f_(C) is “off-tuned” by a value “x.”That is, the antenna is not centered with respect to the local peak ofthe FM signal. Unless the antenna tuning is corrected, the signal datamay be distorted when processed for playback to a user (such as withstatic, mono playback, et cetera), or additional power resources may beneeded to correct the distortion.

The magnitude in which the center frequency is “off-tuned” corresponds,in part, to the changing operational environment. That is, the impedancechanges (such as the varying proximity of a user) affect the antennacenter frequency f_(C). The FM antenna control circuitry providescontrol signals to produce an impedance adjustment value 71 to alter thetuning for the antenna. The altering of the center frequency f_(C)discussed in further detail with reference to FIGS. 4 through 8.

Although the impedance adjustment value 71 is shown to center theantenna center frequency f_(C) with the received signal strength, the FMantenna control circuitry 68 may also provide control signals thatprovide a tuning offset to take advantage of smoother amplifiercharacteristics across a greater bandwidth.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a wirelesscommunication device 22-32 that includes a distributed embodiment of theFM antenna control circuitry 68 and the lumped tuning elements 69.

As illustrated, the wireless communication device 22-32 includes adigital processing module 54 and a memory 56. The digital processingmodule 54 and memory 56 execute instructions and perform correspondingcommunication functions in accordance with a particular mobile and/orcellular phone standard. To the extent that like components and/orelements have been earlier described of the wireless communicationdevice 22-32, the description will not be repeated here.

T he wireless communication device 22-32 includes antenna switch 75 andantenna switch 77. Antenna switch 75 services the cellular Tx/Rx signal81 and the WWAN Tx/Rx signal 83 for transmission and/or reception modesover the antenna 86. Antenna switch 77 services the WLAN Tx/Rx signal 85and WPAN Tx/Rx signal 87 for transmission and/or reception modes overthe antenna 86. The FM transceiver 66 receives and/or transmits acontinuous wavelength signal 89 via the FM antenna 70.

Multiple antenna switches 75 and 77 permit each of the antenna switchesto accommodate the characteristics of similar communications modes.Examples of characteristics may include similar frequency bands, similardata rates, et cetera. For example, an antenna switch may servicecellular frequency bands (such as for AMPS, IS-95 (CDMA), IS-136(D-AMPS), GSM, operating in the 824-849 MHz, 869-894 MHz, 896-901 MHz,and 935-940 MHz frequency bands), and another antenna switch may servicePersonal Communication Service (“PCS”) frequency bands (such as for GSM,IS-95 (CDMA), IS-136 (D-AMPS), operating in the 1850-1910 MHz and1930-1990 MHz frequency bands). A further antenna switch may servicehigh-data rate communications (such as 2.4 GHz).

The FM transceiver 66 receives from the FM antenna 70 the continuouswavelength signal 89 via the printed FM antenna 70. The FM antennacontrol circuitry 68 receives a signal strength indication (SSI) fromthe FM transceiver 66. Also, the FM transceiver 66 may provide thereceived FM signal to the FM antenna control circuitry 68, in whichsignal strength or other signal characteristics may be evaluated togenerate the control signals 73. When the SSI falls outside apermissible signal strength level, the lumped tuning elements 69 providean impedance adjustment value 71 to the printed FM antenna based uponthe control signals 73 from the FM antenna control circuitry 68.

The lumped tuning elements 69 are illustrated on a separately defined ICwith respect to the FM transceiver 66 and the FM antenna controlcircuitry 68. In this manner, differing fabrication processes may beused to implement the impedance devices of the lumped tuning elements 69and with processes to implement other components of the wirelesscommunication device 22-32. That is, in some instances, a reduction infabrication cost and complexity may be realized. Also, wirelesscommunication devices may have an impedance bank accessible to othercomponents within the device to permit shared access to those components(for example, for clock adjustment, et cetera). By adjusting theimpedance value of the lumped tuning elements 69, the FM antenna controlcircuitry 68 tunes the FM antenna 70 to an impedance of thecommunications device 22-32.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an integrated circuit 270 thatsupports wireless communications and includes FM receiver capability.The integrated circuit 270 includes FM receiver circuitry 66 and FMantenna control circuitry 68. For support of wireless communications,the integrated circuit 270 also includes wireless communicationcircuitry 57 with transceivers 58 through 64 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2 and 4).

The FM antenna control circuit 68 produces control signals 73 to controla center frequency of a gain profile of an FM antenna, such as FMantenna 70 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The external lumped element tuning array69 includes a switch module 326 and lumped tuning elements 28. Theexternal lumped element tuning array 69 is provided by a separatelydefined integrated circuit, such as in a mixed semiconductor structureor a portion of the integrated circuit with defined boundaries.

The switch module 326 includes a plurality of switches S₀ through S_(Z)that are coupled to the lumped tuning elements 328 that includes aplurality of tuning elements C₀ through C_(Z). The tuning elements mayalso be implanted in other configurations as voltage-controlled variableimpedance devices (such as varactors, varicap diodes, et cetera). Theplurality of switches S₀ through S_(Z) operate to alter the impedanceadjustment value 71 via the lumped tuning elements 328.

The FM receiver circuitry receives the continuous wavelength signal 89and provides a signal value 90 to the FM antenna control circuitry 68.The FM receiver circuitry 66 also provides a FM data signal 67 to thedigital processing module 54. The signal value 90 is discussed in detailwith respect to FIGS. 6-8.

The FM antenna control circuitry 68, based upon characteristics of thesignal value 90 (such as a received signal strength indication,signal-to-noise-ratio, et cetera), produces control signals 73 to altera center frequency of a gain profile of an FM antenna. In operation, thecontrol signals 73 control the plurality of switches S₀ through S_(Z) ofthe external lumped element tuning array 69. In turn, the switch module326 controls the lumped elements C₀ through C_(Z) of the lumped tuningelements 328 to produce an impedance adjustment value 71. In thismanner, the control signals 73 serve to change an impedance of theexternal lumped element tuning array 69.

Notably, the FM antenna control circuitry 68 provides for rapidadjustment of the impedance adjustment value 71 and correspondingly,rapid tuning of an FM antenna to accommodate changing operationalconditions to the wireless communication device 22-32 (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of another integrated circuit 280that supports wireless communications and includes FM receivercapability. The integrated circuit 270 includes FM receiver circuitry 66and FM antenna control circuitry 68. The FM antenna control circuitry 68further includes a switch module 346 with a plurality of switches S₀through S_(Z). For support of wireless communications, the integratedcircuit 270 also includes wireless communication circuitry 57 withtransceivers 58 through 64 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2 and 4).

The FM receiver circuitry receives the continuous wavelength signal 89and provides a signal value 90 to the FM antenna control circuitry 68.The FM receiver circuitry 66 also provides a FM data signal 67 to thedigital processing module 54 (FIGS. 2 and 4).

The FM antenna control circuit 68, via the plurality of switches S₀through S_(Z) of the switch module 346, produces control signals 73 tothe external lumped tuning elements 348. The external lumped tuningelements 348 include a plurality of tuning elements C₀ through C_(Z),which may be also implemented as voltage-controlled variable impedancedevices (such as varactors, varicap diodes, et cetera) that areresponsive to the control signals 73.

The FM antenna control circuitry 68, based upon characteristics of thesignal value 90 (such as a received signal strength indication),produces control signals 73 to control a center frequency of a gainprofile of an FM antenna. In operation, the FM antenna control circuitry68 produces the control signals 73 from the plurality of switches S₀through S_(Z) to the external lumped tuning elements 348, to alter or“pull” the resonant frequency f_(C) of the FM antenna gain profile.

The FM antenna control circuitry 68 alters the resonant frequency bychanging the impedance value provided by the impedance adjustment value71 via the lumped elements C₀ through C_(Z). Accordingly, the impedanceadjustment value 71 provided to an FM antenna then alters the centerfrequency of the gain profile of the antenna to improve reception of anFM signal.

Notably, the FM antenna control circuitry 68 provides for rapidadjustment of the impedance adjustment value 71 and correspondingly,rapid tuning of an FM antenna to accommodate changing operationalconditions to the wireless communication device 22-32 (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the FM receivercircuitry 66 that includes digitally-controlled antenna tuningcircuitry. The FM receiver circuitry 66 includes a low noise amplifier302, a down conversion module 306, a filter module 312, an analog todigital converter 316, a signal monitoring module 322, and a controlmodule 328. The digital processing module 54 is configured to provide ademodulation module 318.

In operation, the FM antenna 70 passes the continuous wavelength signal89 to the low noise amplifier (LNA) 302, which produces amplified radiofrequency signals 304 therefrom. The down conversion module 306 mixesthe amplified radio frequency signals 304 with an FM band localoscillator signal 308 to produce an information signal 310. The FM bandlocal oscillator signal 308 is based upon a user-selected frequency forradio station reception. The down conversion of the amplified radiofrequency signal 304 may be implemented via homodyne (direct) conversionor superheterodyne (multi-stage) conversion to baseband frequencies forsampling via the analog-to-digital converter 316 for subsequentdemodulation.

The filter module 312 filters the information signal 310 to produce afiltered information signal 314. The filtering performed by filtermodule 312 may be low pass filtering and/or bandpass filtering. Thefiltering module 312 may include one or more stages ofresistor/capacitor circuits and/or one or more stages ofinductor/capacitor circuits.

The analog to digital converter 316 converts the filtered informationsignal 31 into FM signal data 67. The demodulation module 318 convertsthe FM signal data 67 into audio information 320, which forms a portionof the inbound data 74 presented to the user interface 52 (see, e.g.,FIG. 2 and 4).

The signal monitoring module 322 measures signal quality from theamplified RF signal 304, as well as from the information signal 310,and/or the filtered information signal 314, as indicated by the hashedlines. Signal quality indicators include a received signal strengthindication (RSSI), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), et cetera.

The signal monitoring module 322 provides a signal quality indication326 to the control module 328. The signal quality indication 326 may bein a digital or analog format, which the control module 328 processesaccordingly. The signal value 90 operates to alter the center frequencyof the FM antenna's gain profile, which includes a suitable gainbandwidth that is a fraction of the FM band in use.

Based upon the signal quality indication 326, the control module 328operates to counter and/or compensate antenna performance impacted bychanges in operational environmental conditions. Through the signalquality indication 326, the signal monitoring module 322 conveys thesechanges and/or these effects on the antenna performance to the controlmodule 328, which correspondingly adjusts the performance of the FMantenna. That is, changes in the quality of the received continuouswavelength signal are sensed and compensated for by altering the gainprofile characteristics of the FM antenna to realize the improved signalreception—that is, the FM antenna's center frequency.

Generally, the control module 328 can alter the center frequency basedupon predetermined and/or dynamic criteria. For example, the controlmodule 328 may initially determine whether the signal quality indicationis within a predetermined threshold and/or tolerance. When the signalquality indication 326 is outside the predetermined threshold, thecontrol module 328 alters the center frequency of the FM antenna 70(see, e.g., FIGS. 2 and 4), through the signal value 90, until thesignal quality indication 326 comes within the predetermined threshold.

Also, if the station or carrier frequency is unavailable—such as due tosevere signal attenuation due to buildings, highway tunnels, or otherattenuation sources, then a sleep period may be implemented to conservethe device resources, as well as discontinue processing output to a userinterface, such as headphones or other audio playback devices. After thesleep period passes, then further processing of the signal qualityindication 326 may continue, on a periodic basis.

In other aspects, the predetermined threshold for the signal qualityindication may be dynamic in nature. For example, the predeterminedthreshold may be set upon an average values for the signal qualityindications, or may be based upon a greatest signal quality indication(such as the greatest received signal strength indication and/orsignal-to-noise ratio) within a desired tolerance level. In this manner,the sensitivity of the FM receiver circuitry 66 may be increased ordecreased to changes in the operational environment for the FM receivercircuitry 66. Reducing the rate in which the FM receiver circuitry 66tracks changes to the operational environment correspondingly serves toconserve device resources, such as processing and/or power resources.

As may be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, theintegrated circuit implementing the FM receiver circuitry may alsoincorporate FM antenna control circuitry 68, such as that illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 4-6. The FM antenna control circuitry 68 includes a switchmodule 326 coupled to lumped tuning elements 328. The positions of theswitches of the switch module 326 are based upon the signal value 90,and operate to affect an impedance of the lumped tuning elements 328 toproduce an impedance adjustment value 71 that correspond to the signalvalue to alter the center frequency of a gain profile of the FM antenna.

Further, with respect to implementation of the FM receiver circuitry, aseparately defined integrated circuit may include the switch module 326and/or the lumped tuning elements 328 in various integrated circuitstructures to accommodate fabrication, operational, and/or designconsiderations.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a method 340 for altering a center frequencyof a gain profile of an FM antenna. In general, the FM receiver operatesto alter the center frequency of the gain profile of the FM antenna at arate sufficient to accommodate broadcast-content playback to a user in adynamic operational environment. In this manner, the user does notrealize or sense the interference otherwise caused by the changingimpedance of the FM antenna brought on by operational environmentchanges.

Beginning at step 342, an FM receiver circuitry receives an incomingcontinuous wavelength signal. As noted, the incoming continuouswavelength signal may be an FM broadcast signal or other continuouswavelength signal. At step 344, the FM receiver circuitry down convertsthe received continuous wavelength signal to produce audio information.At step 346, the FM receiver determines signal quality information ofthe audio information. The signal quality information may be based uponthe received signal strength of the signal, or based upon other suitablesignal strength indications. At step 348, based upon the signal qualityinformation, the FM receiver alters a center frequency of a gain profileof the FM antenna.

With respect to step 348, altering the center frequency of an FM antennagain profile may be based upon predetermined or dynamic thresholds. Atstep 350, the FM receiver circuitry determines whether the signalquality indication is within a threshold, which may be a predeterminedthreshold and/or a dynamic threshold. When, at step 352, the signalquality indication is outside the predetermined or dynamic threshold,the FM receiver circuitry alters the center frequency of the FM antennauntil the signal quality indication is within the predeterminedthreshold.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a mobile phone 22 having an antennastructure 200. The mobile phone 22 has a structure sometimes referred toas a “brick.” The mobile phone 22 includes a case face cover 202, a caseback cover 222, and a battery cover 228. The case face cover 202includes a display 204, a function keypad 206, and a numeric keypad 208.The case face cover 202 receives a printed circuit board 210 havingintegrated circuits 212, which include transceivers 58-66 (such as thatdiscussed with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4) that is coupled to a FMantenna 70 of the antenna structure 200.

Further, the printed circuit board 210 may include lumped tuningcomponents to initially match the impedance of the mobile phone 22 withthe FM antenna 70. The case back cover 222 includes a first side 219 anda second side 221. The second side 221 defines a sloped portion 223 toreceive the battery cover 228.

The mobile phone 22 supports different forms of communication andinformation and/or media content. For example, in addition to supportingvoice calls, the mobile phone 22 can also send and receive data, sendtext messages via a Short Messaging Service (“SMS”), access WirelessApplication Protocol (“WAP”) services, provide Internet access throughdata technologies such as General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), sendingand receiving pictures with built-in digital cameras, video and soundrecording, et cetera. Additionally, local features may be available withthe mobile phone 22 such as alarms, volume control, user defined anddownloadable ring tones and logos, interchangeable covers, et cetera.

The antenna structure 200 includes the FM antenna 70, a conductivematerial forming a ground plane 224, and the battery 226. The FM antenna70 includes an antenna trace 218, and an input/output connection 216.The FM antenna 70 has a planar structure that is less than a planar areaof the battery cover 228, and is positioned adjacent the inside of thebattery cover 228. The FM antenna 70 may have a variety ofconfigurations that are designed according to varying criteria (see,e.g., FIG. 2 and 4-6).

Also, the FM antenna 70 may be implemented on one or more printedcircuit board layers and/or one or more integrated circuit layers. Thecoupling of the transceiver circuitry of the integrated circuits 212with the FM antenna 70 may be direct or indirect and positioned on theFM antenna 70 to achieve a desired load impedance. For example, theinput/output connection 216 may be a coaxial probe, a printedmicrostrip, a waveguide, and a coplanar transmission line, et cetera.

A battery 226 has a planar structure and is positioned adjacent a secondside of the ground plane 224, such that the planar structure of theantenna 70 and of the battery 226 are substantially parallel. The groundplane 224, which is positioned between the battery 226 and the FMantenna 70, operates to improve a signal-to-noise performance of the FMantenna 70. The battery 226 may have a conductive outer layer thatprovides the ground plane 224 to the FM antenna 70. The battery cover228, case back cover 222, and the case face cover 202 couple to providethe electrical and physical connectivity for operation of the mobilephone 22.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a mobile phone 28 having an antennastructure 200. The mobile phone 28 has a structure sometimes referred toas a “clamshell” structure. The mobile phone 28 supports different formsof communication and media information content. For example, in additionto supporting voice calls, the mobile phone 28 can also send and receivedata, send text messages via a Short Messaging Service (“SMS”), accessWireless Application Protocol (“WAP”) services, provide Internet accessthrough data technologies such as General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”),sending and receiving pictures with built-in digital cameras, video andsound recording, et cetera. Additionally, local features may beavailable with the mobile phone 28 such as alarms, volume control, userdefined and downloadable ring tones and logos, interchangeable covers,et cetera.

The mobile phone 28 includes a first portion 242 and a second portion250. The first portion 242 includes a keypad 244, a function keypad 246,and a case face cover 254. The first portion 242 also receives a FMantenna 70, and a battery 226, each of which being separate,d by aground plane 224. The battery 226, ground plane 224, and the FM antenna70 may be formed as a unit with the back cover 229. The second portion250 of the mobile phone 28 includes a display 248 for relaying callstatus and other information that may be retrieved and presented to theuser. The first portion 242 and the second portion 250 fold along ahinge portion 251 to a substantially parallel position when placed in aclosed position.

The mobile phone 28, via the first portion 242, receives a printedcircuit board 210 having integrated circuits 212, which includetransceiver circuitry 58-66. The FM transceiver 66 is coupled to the FMantenna 70.

The first portion 242 of the clamshell structure provides a smallerfootprint space and/or area for the FM antenna 70. Accordingly, theperformance of the printed FM antenna is more readily influenced bychanges in its operational environment by impedance changes caused by auser and/or other objects. In this regard, the ground plane 224 servesto mitigate these influences and to further improve the performance ofthe printed FM antenna with respect to signal reception. Also, theprinted circuit board may include lumped tuning components, whichcompensate for impedances introduced by the mobile phone components,initially tuning the FM antenna 70 to the wireless communication device22-32.

The FM antenna 70 includes an antenna trace 252, and an input/outputconnection 258. The FM antenna 70 has a planar structure that is lessthan a planar area of the first portion 242 of the phone 28, and ispositioned adjacent the ground plane 224. The FM antenna 70 may beimplemented on one or more printed circuit board layers and/or one ormore integrated circuit layers. The coupling of the transceivercircuitry of the integrated circuits with the FM antenna 70 may bedirect or indirect, and positioned on the FM antenna 70 to achieve adesired load impedance. For example, the input/output connection 216 maybe a coaxial probe, a printed microstrip, a waveguide, and a coplanartransmission line, et cetera.

The FM antenna 70 may be provided under a variety of configurationsdepending upon the desired operational characteristics. Examples of thevarying configurations are discussed in detail with respect to FIG. 2.

The battery 226 has a planar structure that is positioned adjacent asecond side of the ground plane 224, such that the planar structure ofthe FM antenna 70 and of the battery 226 are substantially parallel toeach other in a spaced apart relation to improve the performance of theFM antenna 70. The battery 226, ground plane 224, FM antenna 70, andback cover 229 may be integrated into a module that detachably coupleswith the first portion 242 to provide the electrical and physicalconnectivity for operation of the mobile phone 28. Further, the groundplane 224 may be formed as a conductive layer to the battery 226.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional diagram of the antenna structure 200. Theantenna structure 200 includes the FM antenna 70 and the battery 226with the ground plane 224 in a layered relation. The antenna trace 218is electrically insulated from the ground plane 224 by a protectivelayer 225. The FM antenna 70 has a planar structure that is less than aplanar area defined by the outer periphery of the mobile phone batterycover 228, and is positioned such that the antenna substrate 219 isadjacent the inner side of the battery cover 228. The antenna trace 218is oriented towards the ground plane 224.

The antenna substrate 219 may be formed with the battery cover 288, andfurther may be coupled to, or form a portion of, the inner surface ofthe battery cover 228. The protective layer 225 and the antennasubstrate 219 are made of a dielectric material that provides electricalinsulation between mobile phone components while supportingelectrostatic fields. Further, the dielectric material has a dielectricconstant sufficient to concentrate electrostatic lines of flux whiledissipating minimal energy in the form of heat. Examples of materialsinclude air, polyethylene, polystyrene, et cetera. The planar structureof the FM antenna 70, the ground plane 224, and the planar surface ofthe battery 226 are substantially parallel to each other. The sandwichedstructure provides improved FM signal reception for the FM antenna 70.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional diagram of the antenna structure 239. Theantenna structure 239 illustrates another sandwich structure that may beused in the mobile phones 22 and/or 28. The antenna structure 200includes the FM antenna 70 and the battery 226 with the ground plane 224in a layered relation. The antenna trace 218 is electrically insulatedand/or mechanically protected by a protective layer 225. The FM antenna70 has a planar structure that is less than a planar area defined by theouter periphery of the mobile phone battery cover 228, and is positionedsuch that the antenna substrate 219 is adjacent the ground plane 224.The antenna trace 218 is adjacent the inner surface of the battery cover228. Accordingly, the planar structure of the FM antenna 70, the groundplane 224, and the planar surface of the battery 226 are substantiallyparallel to each other. The sandwiched structure provides improved FMsignal performance for the FM antenna 70.

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a further antenna structure 230implementing a dielectric spacer 257. The antenna structure 230 may beused in the brick structure of the mobile phone 28 and/or the clamshellstructure of the mobile phone 28, as well as other suitable wirelessdevice structures.

The antenna structure 230 includes the FM antenna 70 and the battery 226in a spaced-apart relation via a dielectric spacer 257. The dielectricspacer 257 includes a first dielectric spacer portion 260 and a seconddielectric spacer portion 262. The dielectric spacer 257 also includesweb portions 261 that space the first and dielectric spacer portion 260and 262 in a fixed relation, providing a first side 263 and a secondside 265. The dielectric spacer 257 provides further separation betweenthe battery 226 and the FM antenna 70, which services to improve the E-Mflux characteristics of the printed FM antenna, and improves theperformance of the FM antenna 70.

The dielectric spacer 257 has different dielectric constants that areattributed to the components of the dielectric spacer 257 and the cavity259 defined therein, which may be “filled” with air from the surroundingenvironment. Also, the dielectric space 257 may be formed of a similarmaterial throughout, or formed with multiple materials with differentdielectric properties.

In this manner, the dielectric spacer 257 provides electrical insulationbetween the FM antenna 70 and mobile phone components, while alsosupporting electrostatic fields. In general, the area of the dielectricspacer 257 substantially corresponds to the surface area of the FMantenna 70; however, dielectric spacers with smaller surface areas mayalso be used while the desired improvement to the performance of theprinted antenna 256 is realized.

The FM antenna 70 has a planar structure less than a planar area definedby the outer periphery of the battery cover 228, and is positionedadjacent the inner surface of the mobile phone battery cover 228. Thebattery 226 has a planar surface positioned adjacent the ground plane224, which may be a conductive outer layer of the battery 226. Theconductive outer layer of the battery 226 may partially encase thebattery 226 such that the ground plane 224 is positioned between thebattery 226 and the FM antenna 70. The sandwiched antenna structure 230provides improved FM signal performance for the FM antenna 70.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional diagram of the antenna structure 230 ofFIG. 10 with the dielectric spacer 257 and a gap 231 between the antennastructure 230 and the battery cover 228.

The antenna structure 230 includes the FM antenna 70 and the battery 226in a spaced-apart relation via the dielectric spacer 257. The FM antenna70 has a planar structure generally corresponding to the dielectricspacer 257 and a conductive layer that provides the ground plane 224.The FM antenna 70 has a protective layer 225 and an antenna trace 218,which face adjacent to a first side of the dielectric spacer 257. Aconductive layer forming a ground plane 224 is positioned adjacent asecond side of the dielectric spacer 257, and the battery 226 is in turnadjacent the ground plane 224.

In this manner, the planar structure of the FM antenna 70 and the planarsurface of the battery 226 are substantially parallel to each other in aspaced-apart relation, which serves to improve the FM performance of theFM antenna 70. Further, the gap 231 provides a further dielectric effectwith respect to the antenna structure 230, in that a level of electricalinsulation between the antenna structure 231 and the case covers isprovided while supporting electrostatic fields conducive to FM antennaoperation.

As one of average skill in the art will appreciate, the term“substantially” or “approximately”, as may be used herein, provides anindustry-accepted tolerance to its corresponding term. Such anindustry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent to twentypercent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, component values,integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, rise andfall times, and/or thermal noise. As one of average skill in the artwill further appreciate, the term “coupled”, as may be used herein,includes direct coupling and indirect coupling via another component,element, circuit, or module where, for indirect coupling, theintervening component, element, circuit, or module does not modify theinformation of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level,and/or power level. As one of average skill in the art will alsoappreciate, inferred coupling (that is, where one element is coupled toanother element by inference) includes direct and indirect couplingbetween two elements in the same manner as “coupled”. As one of averageskill in the art will further appreciate, the term “compares favorably”,as may be used herein, indicates that a comparison between two or moreelements, items, signals, et cetera, provides a desired relationship.For example, when the desired relationship is that a first signal has agreater magnitude than a second signal, a favorable comparison may beachieved when the magnitude of the first signal is greater than that ofthe second signal or when the magnitude of the second signal is lessthan that of the first signal. While the transistors or switches in theabove described figure(s) is/are shown as field effect transistors(FETs), as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, thetransistors may be implemented using any type of transistor structureincluding, but not limited to, bipolar, metal oxide semiconductor fieldeffect transistors (MOSFET), N-well transistors, P-well transistors,enhancement mode, depletion mode, and zero voltage threshold (VT)transistors.

1. FM receiver including an FM antenna that receives continuouswavelength signals, the FM receiver coupled to the FM antenna andoperable to alter a center frequency of a gain profile of the FMantenna, the FM receiver comprises: a low noise amplifier module coupledto amplify the continuous wavelength signal to produce an amplified RFsignal therefrom; a down conversion module coupled to mix the amplifiedRF signal with a local oscillation to produce an information signal; afilter module coupled to filter the information signal to produce afiltered information signal; a demodulation module coupled to captureaudio information from the filtered information signal; a signalmonitoring module coupled to monitor FM signal quality of a receivedcontinuous wavelength signal, the signal monitoring module producing asignal quality indication therefrom; and an antenna control module toproduce a signal value based upon the signal quality indication, whereinthe signal value operates to alter the center frequency of the gainprofile of the FM antenna.
 2. The FM receiver of claim 1 wherein thesignal monitoring module is operable to monitor at least one of areceived signal strength and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
 3. The FMreceiver of claim 1 wherein the signal monitoring module monitors the FMsignal quality of the received continuous wavelength signal from atleast one of the amplified RF signal, the information signal, and thefiltered information signal.
 4. The FM receiver of claim 1 furthercomprises: a plurality of lumped tuning elements; and a plurality ofswitches coupled to the plurality of lumped tuning elements, whereinpositions of the plurality of switches based upon the signal valueoperates to affect an impedance of the plurality of lumped tuningelements to produce an impedance adjustment value that corresponds tothe signal value to alter the center frequency of a gain profile of theFM antenna.
 5. The FM receiver of claim 4 wherein the antenna controlmodule correlates the signal quality indication to the switch positionof each of the plurality of switches.
 6. The FM receiver of claim 5wherein a separately defined integrated circuit includes the pluralityof switches and the plurality of lumped tuning elements.
 7. The FMreceiver of claim 5 wherein a separately defined integrated circuitincludes the plurality of lumped tuning elements.
 8. The FM receiver ofclaim 7, wherein the plurality of switches produce control signals,wherein the plurality of switches change an impedance of the pluralityof lumped tuning elements of the separately defined integrated circuitbased upon the control signals.
 9. The FM receiver of claim 1 whereinthe FM antenna has a suitable gain bandwidth that is a fraction of an FMband.
 10. A method for improving reception of FM receiver circuitryincluding lumped tuning circuitry coupled to an FM antenna that receivescontinuous wavelength signals, the lumped tuning circuitry operable toalter a center frequency of a gain profile of the FM antenna, the methodcomprises: receiving an incoming continuous wavelength signal; downconverting the received incoming continuous wavelength signal to produceaudio information; determining signal quality information of the audioinformation; altering a center frequency of a gain profile of the FMantenna based upon the signal quality information.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein altering a center frequency of a gain profilecomprises: determining whether the signal quality indication is within apredetermined threshold; and when the signal quality indication isoutside the predetermined threshold, altering the center frequency of anFM antenna until the signal quality indication is within thepredetermined threshold.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the signalquality indication comprises at least one of a measured received signalstrength and a measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
 13. The method ofclaim 10 wherein monitoring the inbound continuous wavelength comprises:monitoring at least one of an amplified radio frequency (RF) signal, alow intermediate frequency (IF) signal, and a filtered low intermediatefrequency (IF) signal.
 14. The method of claim 10 wherein a centerfrequency of a gain profile of the FM antenna comprises: affecting animpedance of the FM antenna to substantially tunes the FM antenna to thecenter frequency of an acceptable gain bandwidth for the FM antenna. 15.The method of claim 10 wherein a center frequency of a gain profile ofthe FM antenna comprises: setting switch positions of each of aplurality of switches based upon the signal quality indication, theplurality of switches coupled to a plurality of lumped tuning elementsto produce an impedance adjustment value to the FM antenna.
 16. Awireless handheld device comprising wireless communication circuitrycoupled to convert an inbound RF signal into an inbound data signal andto convert an outbound data signal into an outbound RF signal; and FMreceiver circuitry including an FM antenna that receives a continuouswavelength signal, the FM receiver circuitry coupled to convert thecontinuous wavelength signal into audio information, wherein the FMreceiver circuitry includes: a low noise amplifier module coupled toamplify the continuous wavelength signal to produce an amplified RFsignal therefrom; a down conversion module coupled to mix the amplifiedRF signal with a local oscillation to produce an information signal; afilter module coupled to filter the information signal to produce afiltered information signal; a demodulation module coupled to captureaudio information from the filtered information signal; a signalmonitoring module coupled to monitor FM signal quality of the inboundcontinuous wavelength signal, the signal monitoring module producing asignal quality indication therefrom; and an antenna control module toproduce a signal value based upon the signal quality indication, whereinthe signal value operates to alter the center frequency of a gainprofile of the FM antenna.
 17. The wireless handheld device of claim 16wherein the signal monitoring circuitry is operable to monitor at leastone of a received signal strength and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). 18.The wireless handheld device of claim 16 wherein the signal monitoringmodule monitors the FM signal quality of the received continuouswavelength signal from at least one of the amplified RF signal, theinformation signal, and the filtered information signal.
 19. Thewireless handheld device of claim 16 further comprises: a plurality oflumped tuning elements; and a plurality of switches coupled to theplurality of lumped tuning elements, wherein positions of the pluralityof switches based upon the signal value operates to affect an impedanceof the plurality of lumped tuning elements to produce ail impedanceadjustment value that corresponds to the signal value to alter thecenter frequency of a gain profile of the FM antenna.
 20. The wirelesshandheld device of claim 19 wherein the antenna control modulecorrelates the signal quality indication to the switch position of eachof the plurality of switches.
 21. The wireless handheld device of claim20 wherein a separately defined integrated circuit includes theplurality of switches and the plurality of lumped tuning elements. 22.The wireless handheld device of claim 20 wherein a separately definedintegrated circuit includes the plurality of lumped tuning elements. 23.The wireless handheld device of claim 22, wherein the plurality ofswitches produce control signals, wherein the plurality of switcheschange an impedance of the plurality of lumped tuning elements of theseparately defined integrated circuit based upon the control signals.24. The wireless handheld device of claim 16 wherein the FM antenna hasa suitable gain bandwidth that is a fraction of an FM band.